Please join us for a very exciting presentation from Jennifer Stokes on Tuesday September 15th 2026 in the back room at Smoke BBQ 10900 Warwick Blvd. Newport News, VA 23601. There will be a time for Networking and socializing starting at 5:00 PM. The presentation will begin at 6 PM. From reading Jennifer's Bio and the Synopsis of the presentation, this will be one not to miss, so mark your calendars now!
Jennifer Stokes, MBA, CSSBB, PMP, CMQ/OE, CPHQ, is an accomplished Six Sigma Black Belt with over 25 years of experience, including extensive expertise in the automotive and food manufacturing industries. She currently serves as a Senior Business Process Manager at Riverside Health System in Newport News, Virginia, where she partners with diverse process teams to optimize strategic, system-wide, and departmental business processes to drive efficiency and excellence throughout the organization. Through coaching and sharing her knowledge of project management and lean six sigma practices, Jennifer has worked with cross-functional teams on various projects that significantly improved the patient experience and operational efficiency.
Prior to her role at Riverside, Jennifer was a Quality Manager at Planters, where she led the enhancement of the Quality Management System. She spearheaded the implementation of a comprehensive Quality Risk Management Program, successfully reducing consumer risk from 77% to 17%.
Jennifer holds a Master of Business Administration from Averett University and maintains several professional certifications, including Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB), Project Management Professional (PMP), and Certified Manager of Quality and Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE).
Beyond her professional achievements, Jennifer values time with her husband and daughter, enjoys engaging in activities with friends and her church community, and is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Synopsis of Presentation
“From Breakdown to Breakthrough: Why Fishbones and Driver Diagrams are the Ultimate Duo.”
From battery manufacturing to food processing, the fishbone diagram has long been regarded as a gold standard for problem solving. For decades, quality professionals have used the 5M&E framework to provide structure for brainstorming and guide teams through robust root cause analysis. Fishbones help ensure potential root causes are explored across critical categories such as methods, materials, equipment, people, measurement, and environment.
While the fishbone is an excellent tool for understanding what happened, it has limitations when it comes to determining what to do next. How do we translate root causes into meaningful improvement? How do we focus our efforts on the factors most likely to achieve our desired outcome? Which change ideas will have the greatest impact, and how can we measure their effectiveness?
This is where the driver diagram becomes invaluable. During our time together, we will explore how driver diagrams help teams connect improvement goals to the key factors that influence success. We will discuss how driver diagrams sharpen focus on the most important opportunities for improvement, ensure corrective actions are tied to measurable results, and transform brainstorming ideas into targeted, actionable strategies that drive sustainable change.